Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-144

The middle-aged man’s words were sharp and echoed around the quiet mountaintop. Beside him, even though the short man who had reached the Transcendence Realm had a blank look on his face, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

The others did not seem to have heard the words. All of them remained silent. As for the old man in blue robes sitting right in the middle of the circle, he continued to have his eyes shut, as if he was not at all concerned with what was happening.

As for the other two people who were surrounded, they were just as Su Ming had guessed – they were not from Tranquil East Tribe. They were the third batch of guests that were going to be sent into the tunnel of Han Mountain.

One of the two people was an old man with red hair. The other was a man in his thirties. Their expressions were still, and they had their eyes closed, refusing to even acknowledge what was happening.

"Head of the Guards, what sort of right should he have? My word is all the right he needs!" the tribe leader of Tranquil East said slowly.

"With your acknowledgement, I trust that he doesn’t harbor ill will towards Tranquil East Tribe, but only a limited amount of people can enter the tunnel of Han Mountain. Because of him, Zhou Yue was taken out of the agreed upon list of three people who could enter. If he can prove himself stronger than Zhou Yue, then I will agree to this."

The middle-aged man still refused to look at Su Ming, looking instead at Fang Shen as he spoke darkly.

He did not wait for Fang Shen’s answer when he let out a low shout.

"Zhou Yue, if you can win against this man, then no one can stop you from entering the tunnel."

The moment the middle-aged man finished speaking, a long string of laughter appeared from the other side of the stage, which was soon followed by an big, ugly man which was about ten feet tall walking from the end of the stage, laughing ferociously. This man did not wear a shirt, his strong body in the open for all to see.

As he got closer, a strong presence of Qi radiated off him, making a lot of fog around them to scatter away. His appearance made the tribe leader of Tranquil East frown.

Even the two guests who were sitting cross-legged in the circle opened their eyes and looked towards the guest with grave expressions.

With each step he took, the man’s feet thundered against the ground. Once he came, he stood beside the smiling short man in the Transcendence Realm and wrapped his fist around his palm in greeting towards the old man sitting in the middle of the circle. His voice traveled out like a roaring wave.

"Greetings, Elder, Chief of Battle¹, Head of the Guards."

While speaking, the man bowed towards the short man in the Transcendence Realm and the middle-aged man in red robes.

The old man in blue robes still had his eyes closed, ignoring him.

Yet Zhou Yue did not dare to mind. He knew about the man’s status. If the Elder of Tranquil East really opened his eyes and gave him a nod, he would have been taken aback.

"Zhou Yue, this is the person who took your place. Go and fight against him," the Head of the Guards of Tranquil East, the middle-aged man in the red robes told sullenly, pointing at Su Ming.

"Head of the Guards, I’m afraid I can’t control myself if I attack, if I accidentally kill him…"

A fierce light appeared in Zhou Yue’s eyes, and he stared at Su Ming as if he was looking at a dead person, laughing viciously.

"It’s fine. I believe the tribe leader won’t mind. After all, if both parties fight against each other and no one ends up dead, we can’t tell whether the fight was genuine."

This time, the one who spoke was not the middle-aged man in red robes, but the short Chief of Battle in the Transcendence Realm.

"Mo Su, you told me before that you learned the Berserker Art of killing. Allow me to take a look at it today!"

Tranquil East tribe leader’s face became sullen. They had already spoken and agreed upon what they would do about Su Ming the previous day, but now that they were about to start the ritual, his opponents suddenly counterattacked.

Su Ming fell silent and did not speak. Zhou Yue was stomping towards him. His body was incredibly tall, and his height far surpassed a normal person. As he came forward, it gave people the feeling of a small hill pressing down upon them. His ugly and ferocious face coupled with the blood veins in his body expanding turned into a great pressure. The fog in the mountain was dyed red under that flashing red light.

Compared to him, Su Ming, who was frail to begin with, was far too different in height compared to the man, even with the black robes concealing his body. The two of them standing together would give people the feeling that the battle was unfair.

"How dare you steal my place? Die!"

With a low growl, Zhou Yue took one huge step forward and leapt at his opponent. He raised his right fist and banging sounds came from within his body as if his bones were clashing against each other. A shocking force erupted from his body. As he rapidly closed in on Su Ming, he threw a punch forward with a ferocious laugh.

He had prepared this punch for an entire night to make sure that the moment his opponent was struck, he would have no room to counterattack. His body would explode, his flesh and blood would scatter, and Zhou Yue would enjoy the feeling of this person bursting apart under his fist. In his experience, there were far too many people who died under his great strength. This frail looking person before him would be the same.

In fact, to prevent any accidents from happening, Zhou Yue used his full strength the moment he struck. Behind him, a gigantic illusion appeared. This illusion was that of a black ape roaring soundlessly, charging towards Su Ming along with Zhou Yue.

‘Zhou Yue has become stronger again!’

The eyes of the man surrounded in the circle flashed, and his expression became solemn.

The old man beside him had a similar grave expression on his face. As he looked at Zhou Yue charging forth with that ferocious laugh, a pensive look on his face.

The Head of the Guards from Tranquil East, the middle-aged man in red robes, looked towards the two fighters coldly. He did not think Zhou Yue had the ability to kill Mo Su with one punch, but in his mind, Mo Su would still struggle to avoid the attack. He would let this person know that in Tranquil East Tribe, besides the Elder, no one, including the tribe leader, could make the sole decision.

The Chief of Battle beside him, the short man who was still smiling, had a different thought compared to the man in red robes. He did not have any intention to stop Zhou Yue. He could not grasp the true level of this mysterious person called Mo Su and hence wanted to use this chance to gauge his true ability.

All of them harbored different thoughts. Even the people who remained silent looked over.

Yet the moment Zhou Yue closed in on Su Ming, something shocking happened!

Not only did Su Ming not avoid the punch, he firmly took one step forward and shortened the distance between him and Zhou Yue. The moment Zhou Yue’s fist rushed towards him filled with killing intent while the man laughed maniacally, fully intent on enjoying the instant Su Ming’s flesh and blood exploded, Su Ming lifted his right hand and hurled his fist against Zhou Yue’s.

A gigantic boom erupted forth. Zhou Yue’s body descended down from midair, while Su Ming, in his black robes and black mask, stood his ground, his clenched right fist in opposition to Zhou Yue’s punch.

Rumbling sounds resounded instantly. Zhou Yue saw blood, but that blood came from his own body. His right hand exploded, and he screamed in pain. His ferociousness turned into bafflement and his vicious laughter turned into fear. His face was aghast. He could clearly feel a fierce presence coming from Su Ming’s fist. That presence was like a force effortlessly rushing up his right hand, as if it was splitting apart a bamboo. Once it shattered his entire right arm, that force rushed into his body.

The moment the force spread out, his legs lost all sense, his left arm and his entire body seemed to have disappeared, his vision was filled with red, and within that red, he saw Su Ming pulling back his right hand to sweep the black robes on his body.

This was the last scene he saw. After that, everything in his world froze forever.

The breathing of the two guests surrounded by the people immediately turned rapid, their eyes going wide. What happened just now was too quick for them. In an instant, Zhou Yue’s gigantic body crumbled inch by inch before the stranger, and a living person was gone just like that.

This frightening sight made them sink into disbelief, and their gazes towards Su Ming became respectful instantly.

‘He did not dodge, but chose to return the attack with a punch, and he even crushed Zhou Yue’s body. This is…’

‘He did not use a lot of Qi, nor did his footing change. It’s clear that killing Zhou Yue is nothing to him!’

No matter the place, powerful Berserkers were respected. At this moment, Su Ming obtained this respect with his actions.

A flash appeared in the eyes of the tribe leader of Tranquil East. A smile slowly lifted the corners of his lips, but he was also shocked. He knew that Zhou Yue had the blood of the remnants of Towering Mountain Tribe, and he had great strength. He might have only had around 700 blood veins, but with his natural strength, it was still a relatively difficult task for those with more blood veins to win against him.

More importantly, Su Ming only used one punch!

The pupils of Head of the Guards from Tranquil East shrank, he felt as if he had just been humiliated in public. He hadn’t expected that Zhou Yue would not even be able to handle a single punch from his opponent.

He believed that even if he could withstand Zhou Yue’s punch and fight back, at most, he could only force Zhou Yue back, he could not… instantly kill him!

The smile on the Transcended Chief of Battle’s lips beside him instantly froze. His pupils shrank, and a serious expression appeared on his face. His power was at the Transcendence Realm, he could see some things that other people missed.

‘Fine control… and a power that belongs to a Berserker Vessel… This person…’

The Chief of Battle’s eyes shone, but he gave up on the idea of trying to understand the stranger’s strength.

Su Ming dusted his robes, and he looked at the red robed Head of the Guards of Tranquil East indifferently through the mask. The moment the man in red robes met Su Ming’s gaze, a chill swept his heart. The moment he felt that, Su Ming abruptly bounded forward.

He moved so quickly he closed the distance of less than 100 feet between them in an instant. Right before the eyes of the man in red robes, he disappeared.

The man was momentarily stunned and knew that something terrible was about to happen. He quickly stood up, but the moment he did so, he froze, and his pupils shrank. He looked at Su Ming, who appeared before him at some unknown point of time, and who had his right index finger placed at the center of his brows.

He could only see the mask on Su Ming’s face. At that moment, he no longer found that mask hilarious. His heart was shaken, and a dumbfounded look appeared on his face.

He was not the only one shocked. The Transcended Chief of Battle was also taken aback. A glint appeared in his eyes, and he immediately circulated his Qi.

"Mo Su, what are you doing!"

Even the tribe leader of Tranquil East was stunned, standing up quickly. He did not see how Su Ming had appeared before the Head of the Guards.

The others were also astounded, and all their gazes were trained onto Su Ming.

Su Ming’s right index finger was on the center of the Head of the Guards’ brows, whose face was currently pale. Su Ming’s eyes were aloof as he looked at the person before him.

"Have I the right now?"

"You… you…"

The heart of red robed Head of the Guards from Tranquil East was currently trembling. He rarely felt such an incredible sense of danger, incoming death. The pressure exuded by Su Ming’s finger made him feel as if his body and mind were about to crumble, giving him the false impression that he was facing the Elder.

The cold look in Su Ming’s eyes also made him indubitably certain of the killing intent that would burst forth at the slightest provocation.

"You have the right!" an old voice slowly traveled forth.

The Elder of Tranquil East opened his eyes for the first time and looked at Su Ming.

Translator’s Notes:

The words used were 戰 (War)首 and not 魁 (Hunters)首.

As 戰 means battle or war, I thought this would be like a military title, hence the capitalized title.